Is sustainable investing just the latest trend or a sector set to become a mainstream part of the investment universe? Sue Whitbread introduces this special focus in the May and June editions of IFA Magazine and comes to the conclusion that this is a powerful force which advisers should ignore at their peril.
There can be little doubt that public interest in matters of importance such as climate change, sustainability, the environment and conservation is on the rise – and sharply so. You just have to take a look at the TV or listen to the news and you’ll see it right there in front of you. Whether it’s the Extinction Rebellion campaign protestors bringing the streets of London to a close or Sweden’s sixteen year old climate activist Greta Thunberg’s outcry leading to tens of thousands of schoolchildren walking out of their schools to take part in the school strike for climate action, you can’t fail to notice that the tide is turning and attitudes are changing. Sir David Attenborough’s TV programmes such as ‘Climate change – the facts’ which was broadcast over Easter and the ongoing success of Blue Planet are also alerting viewers to the bigger picture as to what is going on around them and the implications of our human behaviour on the natural world.
Sustainable investing options are available across asset classes and through a broadening array of investment vehicles, including those suitable for retail investors and which advisers need to be aware of
Investing Sustainability
And this rising tide of awareness about sustainability is having an impact on the provision of financial planning and investment advice too. No longer are clients simply concerned about the performance of their investment portfolios or the risks that they need to take to achieve that return. There’s now another element – and one which is assuming significant importance – which is that of investing sustainably. As well as being appropriate for their needs and attitude to risk, investment needs to sit comfortably with the client’s ethics, values and their moral compass. And the emphasis on this is set to grow significantly in the years to come. That’s why IFA Magazine is running a special focus on the topic of sustainable investing in both this edition and our June edition too.
The emphasis on investing sustainably is already happening – and not just here in the UK. According to the Global Sustainable Investment Review (GSIR) sustainable investing assets in the five markets of Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia and New Zealand stood at $30.7 trillion at the start of 2018, a 34% increase in two years. It reports that in all of these regions except Europe, sustainable investing’s market share has also grown. From 2016 to 2018, the fastest growing region has been Japan, followed by Australia/New Zealand and Canada. The largest three regions— based on the value of their sustainable investing assets—were Europe, the United States and Japan. Clearly, sustainable investing constitutes a major force across global financial markets.
In almost all the markets represented in the GSIR report, sustainable investing has grown in both absolute and relative terms in the two years since the beginning of 2016. As a result, the report outlines that that sustainable investing represents more than 50 percent of total professionally managed assets in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, nearly half in Europe, 26 percent in the United States and 18 percent in Japan. This growth reflects the expanding awareness of the business case for sustainable investing. Asset managers in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand reported in regional surveys that major motivations for their use of sustainable investing strategies are the desire to minimise risk and improve financial performance over time. This may also explain why the sustainable investing strategy of ESG integration has become more widely deployed globally, with 60 percent more global assets managed with this strategy in 2018 than in 2016. Negative screening and corporate engagement are popular and often complementary strategies to ESG integration in each of the five regions. The quest for positive impact remains an important motivation, too. A majority of money managers in the United States and New Zealand cited the desire to achieve social and environmental benefit or to fulfil their firms’ missions as factors in their work. Investment initiatives related to combating climate change, responding to environmental challenges or implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals were in evidence throughout the five regions. The data collected by GSIR demonstrates, too, that sustainable investing is increasingly accessible. Sustainable investing options are available across asset classes and through a broadening array of investment vehicles, including those suitable for retail investors and which advisers need to be aware of.
This is a trend which looks set to continue to gather momentum and to ensure that sustainable investment becomes a mainstream concept within a very short space of time
But what’s what?
This growing proliferation of funds and strategies integrates ethical considerations into the investment process. But how do you analyse them? What are the differences?
Environmental, social and governance (ESG), socially responsible investing (SRI) and impact investing are terms often used interchangeably by clients and professionals alike, with the assumption that they are interchangeable. However, distinct differences exist that will affect how client portfolios should be structured and which investments are suitable for meeting social impact goals.
What does ESG mean?
ESG refers to the environmental, social and governance practices of a company or an investment that may have a material impact on its performance. The integration of ESG factors is used to enhance traditional financial analysis by identifying potential risks and opportunities beyond technical valuations. While there is an overlay of social consciousness, the main objective of ESG evaluation remains financial performance.
What is SRI?
Socially responsible investing (SRI) goes one step further than ESG by actively eliminating or selecting investments according to specific ethical guidelines. The underlying motive could be religion, personal values or political beliefs. Unlike ESG analysis which shapes valuations, SRI uses ESG factors to apply negative or positive screens on the investment universe. Examples of some negative SRI screens include:
- Alcohol, tobacco and other addictive substances
- Gambling
- Production of weapons and defence tools
- Terrorism affiliations
- Human rights and labour violations
- Environmental damage
For clients engaged in socially responsible investing, making a profit is still important, but must be balanced against principles. The goal is to generate returns but in a way which is in line with their social conscience.
What about impact investing?
With impact investing, positive outcomes are most important – meaning the investments need to have a positive impact, in some way. So the objective of impact investing is to help a business to accomplish specific goals that are beneficial to society or the environment.
Of course, some funds are explicit in their pursuit of sustainable investment, having this as a primary objective. However, more and more fund managers and investment houses are seeing ESG and sustainable investing as a critical part of their due diligence and stock selection process. This is a trend which looks set to continue to gather momentum and to ensure that sustainable investment becomes a mainstream concept within a very short space of time.
With these issues in mind, we are grateful to a number of experts who are operating in this sector for sharing their opinions and analysis with us for IFA Magazine. This is in order for us to better understand what is happening within the world of investment and how, as financial planners, we can better support clients’ needs by ensuring that their investment portfolios really are appropriate for all of their objectives. It also opens up a far more meaningful discussion around investment themes at reviews and supports the development of that long term client relationship which is based on understanding and trust. In this day and age, that is win-win.
